If you were looking for solace from Kalen DeBoer's postgame press conference after Alabama was humiliated with the worst bowl loss in program history against Indiana on New Year's Day, you won't find it. Instead, you'll find more anger from comments that make it seem like DeBoer doesn't quite understand what just happened at the Rose Bowl.
Alabama didn't just lose. It was embarrassed 38-3 against a very worthy No. 1 team in the country. If the Rose Bowl proved anything, it was just how big of a gap there is between the Crimson Tide and the elite teams in college football. That means DeBoer and company have their work cut out for them to return the Tide to the mountaintop.
That much seemed obvious to everyone watching...except Kalen DeBoer.
"It may not feel like a fine line, but it's a fine line to being here and being at the top," DeBoer said.
There certainly didn't feel like there was a fine line separating Alabama and Indiana. It felt more like a chasm, one that stands between DeBoer and leading the Crimson Tide to where he's paid to lead them to.
And he's going to have to realize that. Quickly.
Kalen DeBoer must close the gap quickly between Alabama and college football's elite
Your mileage may vary, but I take the 2025 season as an overall success for Alabama. It was far from perfect, and far from where the Crimson Tide should ultimately be, but regardless of your overall feelings, one thing is unequivocally true: Alabama took a step forward in DeBoer's second season from where it finished his first.
The loss column might read the same, but Alabama added two extra wins and reached the College Football Playoff after missing it a year ago. The Tide also went on to win a game in the playoff, knocking off Oklahoma on the road.
A blowout loss leaves a sour taste at the end of a challenging season, but it is a step forward. And with another elite recruiting class, and hopefully some urgency in the Transfer Portal and in staff changes, DeBoer and company will have an opportunity to close the gap next season.
But the first step in doing so is admitting that the gap exists. Alabama isn't as close as DeBoer thinks it is. That much was evident when it ran into the Indiana buzzsaw on Thursday afternoon.